


Breathe (2 AM)

by landy67



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: 1x08, Angst, Family, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers, soft, tk strand deserves the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22998160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landy67/pseuds/landy67
Summary: an exploration into Carlos's thoughts at the hospitalor, better put, how do you breathe when the weight of the world is pressing on your chest?
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 12
Kudos: 182





	Breathe (2 AM)

He couldn’t breathe.

Which, frankly, is a horrible thing to think when TK is the one currently in a coma after a bullet made his lung collapse.

Carlos wanted to laugh at the hilarity of it all. I mean, who would have thought the kid would grab the gun? Kids are taught to admire firefighters and yet Tyler Kennedy Strand almost died tonight thanks to a kid pulling a trigger.

Hell, he couldn’t breathe. Carlos sank down into the seat in the waiting room, preparing himself for the worst. TK wasn’t out of surgery yet and so now all he could do was wait. Sit and wait.

The chair next to his shifted and he glanced over, realizing with a start who sat there. The little boy who shot TK. The kid couldn’t be older than nine and looked as if he had aged ten years from the events of the night.

“Hey bud, where’s your grandma?” Carlos asked, the cop in him unable to just let the kid sit there festering in silence.

“With grandpa. They say he’ll be fine. Is...is the firefighter gonna be okay? The one I shot?”

Carlos turned back to stare at the wall in front of him. His chest felt as if a million pounds was settling right on top of his heart. Was it normal to feel this way? How could any of this be normal? Carlos had seen people be shot before. It came with his job. But Carlos had never seen a loved one shot. Wait, was TK a loved one? They weren’t boyfriends...or were they? TK needed slow and Carlos could do slow but right now…

“Mister? Is he gonna be okay?”

Carlos quickly looked over at him, seeing tears building in the kid’s eyes. He shifted out of his seat and kneeled down in front of him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“TK is a fighter. He’ll be fine, okay? He has to be.” Carlos honestly couldn’t tell who he was comforting: the kid or himself. Either way, the kid sniffled and bowed his head. His shoulders trembled and Carlos could tell he was on the brink of breaking down.

“I didn’t mean to do it. I was just so scared. I’m so sorry,” the boy sobbed.

“Hey, hey. None of that. I know you didn’t mean to hurt TK. You were just trying to protect your family. TK will be fine, okay? And I know TK pretty well. The last thing he would want you to feel is guilty.”

The boy nodded and Carlos leaned forward, pulling him into a gentle hug. He glanced over the boy’s shoulder, seeing his grandma standing by the nurses station with an anxious look on her face. He sent her a reassuring, albeit fake, smile and pulled away from the boy.

“Why don’t you go rejoin your grandma, okay?”

“Come along, Ethan,” she called softly, holding out her hand. Ethan peeled himself off the chair and glanced back at Carlos.

“Can you tell him I’m sorry?”

“I’ll be sure to do that, Ethan.”

He waited until they were out of sight before he stood, turning to face the members of the 126 who were coming back from putting the truck and gear away. Carlos didn’t even take the time to get out of uniform. He just informed his sergeant that he needed to be taken off shift and drove after the ambulance with full lights and sirens.

“He’ll be okay,” he whispered to himself even as his belief faltered.

* * *

Three hours later and he’s standing outside of TK’s door with tears in his eyes and the overwhelming desire to just crumple to his knees. Captain Strand is sitting inside and Carlos knows that he needs the time with his son more than Carlos needs it but his heart still aches. He just wants to see for himself that TK was still breathing.

“Officer Reyes,” Owen greeted, turning to face him. “Would you like some time with him?”

“I-I don’t want to impose,” he protested but every fiber of his being was screaming for him to go in and sit down and hold TK’s hand and-

“No, I think uh...I think he’d appreciate it. I know I would,” Owen sighed, standing up. As he passed Carlos on the way out, he clapped a comforting hand on his shoulder. They locked eyes and Carlos understood. Captain Strand  _ knew _ . Of course he knew but what was more important was Captain Strand knew and he was inviting him into TK’s room because he trusted him.

Carlos practically collapsed in the chair, one hand coming up to stroke TK’s hair just like the brunet once mentioned shyly as they laid on the couch.

“My dad used to...I dunno, like...pet my head when I had nightmares and crawled into bed with him. It instantly calmed me down,” he had muttered. Carlos said nothing at the time and simply carded his fingers through the brunet’s hair.

Now he realized how important that was to admit. TK had been vulnerable in front of him and Carlos felt the tears build again as he remembered all the small, soft moments.

“C’mon, Tiger. You gotta wake up. For your dad and the team and f-for me.” His voice broke at the end of his sentence. “Damn you, Tyler Kennedy. Got me all wrapped up by your little finger. You gotta wake up so we can go see that new movie, right? The romcom that you keep claiming as an action film?”

He had one hand on his arm and the other in TK’s hair because Carlos had to keep reminding himself that TK is alive and breathing, no matter how much blood he saw pour from him earlier. Shoving aside those awful images, he focused on TK’s gorgeous and perfect face and how his chest rose and fell when a hand landed on his shoulder. Paul joined them, as did Marjan and Mateo. He can see Judd and Grace praying in the lobby.

“TK’ll be okay,” he whispered, staring at the pale face of the man he loves. “He’s a fighter. He’ll be okay.”

The silence in the room isn’t suffocating or drowning him. Rather, it’s almost comforting. It’s a silence filled with the unspoken loyalty, trust, and faith of everyone. Carlos glanced around at the faces in the room and then back at TK.

“You have to be okay, Tiger. You have a lot of people waiting for you to open those pretty eyes. You’re not alone, TK. Not this time. We’re here.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi this episode made me cry
> 
> should I write a part 2 that is full of love and happiness and puppies to prepare myself for next week yes or yes pls let me know


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